* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Tomorrow evening marks the arrival of Tisha B’Av. Does that mean we are forbidden to experience any joy until then? Racheli Peretz highlights an important point in her book Parashot Barzel, a series of reflections on the Torah portions since October 7 and the Iron Swords War that followed:
“Until Tisha B’Av,” Peretz writes, “there are many restrictions, and we are required to reduce expressions of joy. We do not hold weddings, we do not buy new clothes, and in most Jewish communities we refrain from eating meat. But that does not mean there is no joy whatsoever? In fact, this is the time for creating a kind of joy that is absolutely permitted at all times according to Jewish law.
When you know that you have helped someone, performed an act of kindness, or given charity, you come away with a far better feeling than you would after an expensive meat meal at a restaurant.
When you study Torah, when you know you restrained yourself from yelling at your children, when you succeeded in setting a boundary for yourself — that is true joy, and is doesn’t cost a thing..
The days leading up to Tisha B’Av are meant to increase this kind of joy — joy that does not depend on shopping or anything external, and that does not fade after a moment.
It is a pure joy, one that nourishes the soul more than the body. It is the joy of a mitzvah, a joy that builds us from within and helps build the Beit HaMikdash, preparing us for the complete joy of our final redemption that lies ahead.”
